Dodgers' Top International Prospect Gets a Big Promotion

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 6, 2024

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

A set of game notes has reportedly confirmed the promotion of Los Angeles prospect Hyun Seok Jang.

According to Jang's transaction page, the promotion hasn't officially been confirmed but the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes have him listed as Thursday's starter against Fresno.

BREAKING: Hyun Seok Jang pitching for Rancho on Thursday, August 8th pic.twitter.com/Rb40P8gwJA

— Tim Rogers 2080 ✝️🇺🇸⚾️ (@TimRogers2080) August 4, 2024

The 20-year-old Korean pitching prospect signed for $900,000 last year and the Dodgers are hoping his ascension to the big leagues will produce talent similar to two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

A native of Changwon, a port city on South Korea’s southern coast, Jang emerged as not only the nation’s top high school player but as a promising pitching prospect.

His 6-foot-4 frame and upper-90s fastball are just a couple of tools that should help him reach the major leagues.

“We see a future with top-of-the-rotation starter stuff,” Dodgers’ director of minor league pitching Rob Hill said. “It’s just a matter of getting there and doing it. He can do so much with the ball. He’s so adept at trying to improve. I think the sky’s the limit.”

If Jang stayed in Korea, he most likely would have been the No. 1 pick in the KBO League draft. Instead, he decided to forge his own path by signing with Major League Baseball.

“He would’ve started in the KBO, at the top level, right away,” said Daniel Kim, an independent South Korean journalist who has contributed to ESPN’s coverage of the nation’s domestic league. “If you’re a top one, two, three [high school] player, you get a lot of recognition.”

Jang opted to move to the United States to help expedite his path to the big leagues. After 13 games in the Arizona Complex League, he seems to be taking the first big step toward achieving his dream.

“It was a tough decision for me because I dreamed of pitching both in the KBO and MLB,” Jangsaid in a statement last August, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. “But ultimately, I wanted to challenge myself in the best league in the world and decided to take a crack at MLB.”

According to Dodgers vice president of player development Will Rhymes, Jang is still at least two to three years away from the big leagues. That was his opinion in March, his thoughts could have changed since then.

In Jang, the Dodgers see an opportunity to develop another future star from the other side of the world and make up for missing out on the developing Ohtani years.